First Amendment News

Republican candidates are upping their sharing of unreliable news sources according to a study by two researchers. From January to July of 2020 Republican congressional candidates tallied 8 percent shared links with unreliable sites, Democratic candidates, less than one percent. But from January to July of 2022, Republican candidates tallied 36 percent with Democrats at 2 percent. Republican non incumbents shared the most unreliable news with Alaska candidate Sarah Palin at 99 percent unreliable sources.

A government watchdog sued the Justice Department for records of the task force charged with investigating threats against election workers. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) wants to know how many tips the task force received and whether the cases are open or closed. (Reuters, August 25, 2022, by Mike Scarcella) An August report from the House Oversight Committee shows how lies about elections flummox election workers and fuel violent threats against workers.

A vast majority of Florida state university professors, staff and students failed to complete Governor Ron DeSantis mandated free speech survey designed to assess “intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity.” Only 2.4 percent of students completed the survey. (Forbes, August 28, 2022, by Michael T. Nietzel) Of the few students who responded, a majority said their school provides for free expression of diverse beliefs and opinions. A quarter said free expression was not supported. The state’s

The American Civil Liberties Union is challenging an Arizona law that makes it a misdemeanor to shoot footage of police in action closer than eight feet without an officer’s permission. The lawsuit said the law was ambiguous in part, and critics claimed the law would be used to stifle the established First Amendment right to record police in action. (News10, August, 23, 2022, by Terry Tang of The Associated Press) The ACLU joined with 10

The Texas Tribune and other news outlets are suing Uvalde, the sheriff and the school district for records of the May shooting that killed students and teachers. The request includes 911 calls, radio transmissions, body cam footage, police reports, training manuals and school surveillance film. (The Texas Tribune, August 29, 2022, by Zach Despart) Even with the Texas Attorney General ruling that Uvalde could not withhold all records, the officials have claimed they are conducting